Needle blanks



(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet I.

J BERRY.

DEVICE FOR FEEDING NEEDLE BLANKS.

No. 249,822. Patented Nov. 22,1881.

M j i I I 4, A2, 4%

(N0 Model.) Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. BERRY.

DEVIGE FOR FEEDING NEEDLE BLANKS. No. 249,822. Patented Nov. 22,1881.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. BERRY.

DEVICE FOR FEEDING NEEDLE BLANKS.

Patented Nov. 22,1881.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 4. J. BERRY. v

DEVICE FOR FEEDING NEEDLE BLANKS.

No. 249,822. Patented Nciv. 22,1881.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrce.

JOHN BERRY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL NEEDLE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

DEVICE FOR FEEDING NEEDLE-BLANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 249,822, dated November 22, 1881.

Application filed May 9, 1581.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the countyofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Devices for Feeding \Vire Needle-Blanks to Compressing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the details of construction of devices for receiving, holding, and manipulating pieces of wire which are cut into proper lengths for blanks from which to make sewing-machine and other needles and analogous articles, and which operate in conjunction with a machine provided with dies to compress or draw down said needle-blanks in a cold state into the proper size and form for making said needles, the object being to provide suitable automatically-operating devices for receiving and holding said blanks, for delivering them one at a time to a proper instrument which receives them, carries them between the dies, holds and revolves them while they are being compressed, and finally delivers them into a proper receptacle.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 illustrates a needle-compressing machine provided with blank-feeding mechanism according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of said machine and feeding mechanism, with parts of two retracting-straps broken away to show parts thereunder, and partly in section. Fig. 3 is a view of the feeding mechanism separate, mainly, from the compressing-machine, but showing directly-connected portions thereof. Fig. 4. is a view, partly in section, of the bed-plate of the feeding device, showing thereon a series of wire needle-blanks, the top plate being broken away to shown said blanks and certain operative parts of the feeding devices. Fig. 5 is a view of a blank-guide detached from the feed device. Fig. 6 is a view of the blank-ejector detached from the machine. Fig. 7 is the blank-support. Fig. Sis a longitudinal section of the needle-blank chuck. Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of theclamp-jaws of said chuck and their ejector-piston separate from the chuck. Fig. 10 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the compressing-machine.

(No model.)

machine, one'end being connected with the bed of the machine and one with the lower one of said dies. a is a pitman connecting said toggle-jointwith a crank on a shaft, 0 which is driven by power applied thereto through pulley D. I p

B B are balance-wheels on shaft 0 E is a chuck-bed projecting at right angles from the front side of frame A and secured thereto.

Eis a feed-bed secured to the side of frame A.

a is a head-stock adapted to slide on bed E to and from the dies in frame A.

e is the needle-blank chuck, consisting of a case, d, a head, 01, a clamp-tube case, a piston, e, a slotted clamp-tube, c, an ejector-piston, a spring, t", a grooved collar, 0, and a wed ge,t' adapted to revolve in the head-stock a, but not to slide therein.

1) is a driving-pulley on chuck c.

c is an annularly-grooved collar on chuck c.

c is a lever, a part of which encircles collar 0, and is made to engage with the latter by a screw, a, through it, which enters said annular groove around said collar, and said lever is pivoted to an arm, 6 which is secured to said headstock a.

d is the tubular chuck-case.

d is a head screwed onto the front end of case d.

e is a piston in chuck-case (l.

e is a tubular clamp-tube case screwed ou- I to the end of piston c and fitted to slide within case (I.

c is the slotted clamp-tube, fitted to have its rear slim portion enter the end of the tubular 1" is a spring on the ejector-piston 'i.

i is a screw in the end of clamp-tube c and is chambered longitudinally to receive the end of the ejector-piston t, and by it the rearward 5 movement of said piston can be adjusted.

is a wedge set in a narrow transverse slot through the chuck-case din the rear of the piston e. Collar e is fitted to slide on chuck e, operated by lever 6 and has an inclined slot 3 cut in opposite sides of the opening through it, in which slots the ends of wedge i fit, so that when said collar is slid on said chuck said wedge is caused to have a transverse move ment in said case d.

5 f is a bed-plate fitted to and adapted to slide on the bed E, and is actuated in one direction by its connection with a rock-shaft, h, through arm h and connecting-rod h", the latter being pivoted to said arm and to said bed-plate f, as

shown, andin the opposite direction by a spring, 9 attached to an arm thereon, as shown, and to bed E. Said rock-shaft h is provided with a second arni, g, which is adapted to engage with a cam, g, on a cam-shaft in the rear of frame A. Said bed-platef has secured upon its upper face the top plate, f, whose under face bears upon plate f only along its rear edge, as shown, leaving an open space between said platesfand f from one edge inward for ,o nearly their wholelength and nearly their whole width. Said platef has a groove formed in its face next to platef, as shown, and a sliding feed-plate, having a rib on it which fits the said groove in plate f, is fitted to slide between said two plates,ff, in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and is actuated to so slide toward frame A by a weight, 9, attached to said plate 9 by a cord, g. Said bed-platef' has a transverse groove, 0, cut in it near one end,

.0 and alike groove, 0 is formed in the under face of plate f, directly over groove 0 in plate f. Said two grooves form a common groove between said plates, in which the blankejector 0 slides, an oblong out being made quite up .5 through the plate f, above the groove 0 in said plate, to let the stud 0 on said ejector project above its surface. The ejector 0 has a projection, 0 on one side thereof, as shown.

A blank-support, s, is secured between plates ,c fandj, a corner of which projects over groove 0 to a point on a line with the side of ejector 0 when both are in position on platef, as in Fig. 4. A curved-ended blank-guide, j, is adjustably secured in front of plate f by a finger- ;5 screw, as shown, whose upper edge rises up in front of the opening between said plates f 1. An ejector-plate, it, having in it two elongated openings, through which screws pass to secure it thereupon, is adapted to slide upon the top o of plate f, and said ejector-plate has a cam- 5 10, which is curved downward over its back edge, and its end lies upon the surface of bed E, back of plate f. Upon the surface of said bed E are fixed two stop-blocks, z 2, so that when plate f slides with plate j along on bed E arm w hits one of said blocks, stopping plate 12, and causing stud 0 on the ejector 0 to be so pressed against the edge of the cam-slot v in plate t as to force said ejector to slide in groove 0 forward or back, according to the direction of movement of plate f.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 series of wire needleblanks y are shown in the needle-feeding devices in proper position to be fed; but in Figs. 3 and 4, which are enlarged views, the needleblanks y y are more clearly shown in their relation to the feed devices.

Upon the end of platef, near to the end of chuck e, is secured an inclined apron, 2, (only shown in Fig. 1,) and rising behind its rear edge is a die-guard, 3.

The functions of the needle-blank holding and feeding devices above described, located upon the bed E, and those of the chuck e are co-operative for the purposes above named, and their proper operation together requires that the said devices upon bed E have a regular reciprocating motion thereon to carry a blank, 3 forward in front of the end of the chuck c, as in Fig. 2, and to retire back from between the end of said chuck and the dies 0 in the compressing-machine. The said reciprocating motion of the devices is produced by the operation of devices actuated by cam 9 as above described, and by spring g.

The proper operation of chuck c with said devices upon bed E requires that the headstock a, upon which chuck c is mounted, together with said chuck and lever 0 shall have a reciprocating motion upon bed E, carrying the chuck to and from the dies 0; and the proper operation of chuck c to seize and release the needle-blanks while being operated upon, as just described, requires that the collar 0 on chuck c, with which lever c is connected, as described, be slid back and forth on said chuck at the proper time in its said movements back and forth. The said reciprocating motion of the head-stock a on bed E is produced by the hereinafter-described mechanism.

A collar, 4, is secured to chuck 0 near its rear end. A slotted wide arm, 5, engages with collar 4, a center screw, 6, which passes through the end of said arm, engaging in the end of said chuck to provide a proper point of resistance when arm 5 pushes said chuck for ward. Said arm 5 is secured to a rod, 7, which has proper supports in which to slide on bed E and on the side of frame A. Said rod 7 runs back to the rear of the said compressingmachine, and has its rear end pivoted loosely to the upper end of a vibrating bar, 8, which bar is provided with a stud, 9, against which a cam, 10, revolves, which is fixed to a camshaft, 11, and said cam-shaft is driven, through suitable gear-connections therewith, as shown, by shaft 12, a belt being applied to pulley 13 therefor. I

A strap, 14, is connected by a hook to the end of rod 7, and runs over a guide-roll, as shown, down in the rear of the machine, and has a weight hung upon it, which serves to carry chuck 6 toward dies 0 c and the end of the needle-blank between the latter only with the force of said weight, and to draw bar Shack against cam 10, so that the stud 9 shall be kept in contact with the edge thereof. A latch, 15, is pivoted on the side of rod 7, and when turned up on a line with said rod serves, by striking against the rod-support on the side of frame A, to hold chuck e in a backward position on bed E. Thus when cam 10 revolves against stud 9 on bar 8 chuck c, with its head-stock and handle 6 are all slid back on bed E, as in Figs. 1 and 2, and as the extreme point on said cam passes by said stud the strap 14, to which said weight is suspended, draws said chuck and parts toward the dies 0 in the compressing-machine with such movements as are permitted by the form of cam 10. The said movement of chuck 0 toward the dies by a weight enables one to so graduate the force of said movement as to obviate any liability to damage a needle-blank, or any part of the machine, should some unexpected obstruction be interposed between said chuck and said dies.

The above-mentioned requisite sliding motions of collar e on chuck e are produced by the hereinafter-described mechanism.

A rod, 16, is supported in suitable bearings on bed E and on the machine, in which it can slide, and upon said rod are two collars, 17 18, which can be adjusted on said rod, and which are provided with proper vertical projectionsor studs, as shown, and between which the end of lever lies, as seen in Fig. 2. Said rod 16, like the belbre-mentioned rod 7, is pivoted to the end of a vibrating bar, 17, which is acted upon in a similar manner to bar 8 by a cam, 18 on shaft 11, and a similar strap, 19, and weight are used to draw bar 17 against cam 18 and slide rod 16 rearward to that above described in connection with rod 7. Thus the movements of cam 18 through rod 16 and collar 18 against lever 6 swing the latter back andslide collar 6 on chuck e in one direction, while the weight hung on strap 19 draws rod 16 rearward, and, bringing collar 17 and its stud against lever 6 slides collar e in the opposite direction and both ways with such movements as are permitted by the form of cam 18 The movements of the various mechanisms of the machine are produced by the application of belts to pulleys 13, D, and D The operation of this machine in compressing needle and other blanks, and in feeding the said blanks thereto, is as follows: The needle-blanks y are placed in a row, side by side, between plates f and f, the opening between which is of such width that said blanks must lie side by side, and not roll one upon the other. One end of the row of said blanks lies against the side of the ejector 0 and against the point of the blanksupport s, as shown in Fig. 4, and the end of the projection 0 on the block 0 is back of .the end of the blank which lies next to said block. In putting said blanks between said plates, the sliding feed-plate g is drawn back out of the way by taking hold of the knob upon it, and when the blanks have been inserted, as above described, said plate 9 is allowed to slide against the end of the row of blanks next to it, weight 9 serving to hold it there and to .crowd the line of blanks along as fast as one is removed from the forward end of the line. The curved blank-guidej is so setin front of plate f that the distance between its inner face and the rear side of the opening between plates ff, in which the blanks are placed, is about the same as the length of the blanks, and should any of said blanks, in moving along toward block 0, get shaken out of line, they will,upon arri vingopposite the curved end of said guide, be brought in contact therewith and be moved back, and so be guided and carried in a proper line to the blank-ejector 0. It will be observed that the corner of guide jopposite the last blank of the series or row is cut away to allow said blank to be pushed out.

The blanks 3 can be easily supplied to the above-described feeding devices without stopping the machine.

. The compressing-dies c are grooved accord ing to the diameter to which the blanks 3 are to be reduced, the upper die being stationary, and the lower one being operated vertically toward the upper one with great rapidity and force by the connection of the toggle-joint c c with shaft 0 by pitman a.

- It will be understood that to tix the startingpoint of chuck e, from whence it moves toward the dies, according to the length of the blanks which it is desired to work, arm 5 can be moved and adjusted on rod 7; also, that, if desired, further means for adjusting the machine to manipulate blanks ot'difierent lengths may be provided by making bed E adjustable on the side of frame A to and from the end of chuck c.

The various parts of the machine are started up, all operating together. The feed bed-plate f audits directly-connected parts slide toward the end of chuck e, carrying the needleblank which lies next to block 0 directly in front of the center of said chuck, and in so moving to said position the blank-ejector 0 slides in groove 0, bringing the end of the projection 0 on said ejector against the rear end of the blank lying against it, and carrying said blank forward, guided and kept in line by the guide 8, into the position seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

From the foregoing description of the con- IIO struction of chuck a it will be seen that the extreme rear position of collar 0 on chuck c,

' such as it is in when collar 18 on rod 16 lies against the inner side of lever 6 as in Fig. 2, causes wedge i to move behind the rear end of piston e, letting the latter, with the clamptube case 0", slide back in case d,'actuated by the springing apart of the clamp-jaws operating against the tapering socket in the head d, when the rear pressure upon piston c ceases. Also, it will be seen, for reasons which the lastdescribed operation make apparent, that when collar 0 moves forward and wedge i is driven down piston 0* moves forward, crowdingthe tapered ends of the clamp-tube so forcibly against head (1 as to spring said ends together and cause them to grasp-and hold any object that may lie between them.

To resume the operation: The chuck e is now slid toward the said projecting needle-blank, the end of which enters between the open ends of the clamp-tube therein, and striking the end of the ejector-piston 'i drives the latter back beyond the shoulder 00 therein-against the power of spring t", the rear end of said piston entering the chamber in screw i As soon as said needle-blank has entered said clamp-tube a little beyond said shoulder 41: rod 16 suddenly moves back, causing the stud on collar 17 to strike lever 0 slide along collar 0 toward the headstock, and lock said clamptube upon the needle-blank. A movement of cam 10 upon bar 8 now causes chuck e to retire sufliciently (and rod 16 also slides back a little to leave lever c undisturbed) to draw the needleblank quite out from between plates f f. At this moment plate f and its needle-feed parts are drawn back from between the end of said chuck and the dies 0 in the compressing-machine, and the blank-ejector 0 slides back to the position seen in Fig. 4, and both rods 7 and 16 now slide back, and chuck 0 moves to ward said dies by the action of the weight suspended to strap 14, carrying the needle-blank, which it holds between them, and revolving meanwhileby the action of the belt shown upon pulley D, the said chuck resting for an instant in this position until the operation of compressing said blank is completed, when rod 7 drives the chuck, still holding the blank away from the dies; but at this instant plate f and its parts again move toward the position to again deliver a blank to the chuck, and have nearly reached that point, when suddenly rod 16 slides forward, driving the stud on collar 18 sharply against lever c and sliding collar 0 back, letting wedge t' rise and piston a slide back, letting the clamp-tube which holds the needle-blank suddenly open. This action allows spring 1" on the ejector-piston i to shoot the latter against the rear end of the needle-blank and throw it suddenly out of the clamp-tube, whence it flies, striking the vertical die-guard 3, (see Fig. 1,) which at this instant, as the feed devices are again moving up to deliver another needle-blank in front of the chuck, covers the opening between said dies 0, and said feed devices continue so to move until another needle.blank is brought before the chuck, when the above-described operations are repeated. When said die-guard 3 is not used the compressed blanks are likely to be frequently thrown between dies 0 as they are ejected from the chuck; but by employing said guard the blanks are safely delivered into the receptacle H below.

What I claim as myinvention is- 1. The combination,in a machine for compressing wire blanks for the manufacture of needles and analogous articles, of compressing dies and operating mechanism, substantially as described, and blank-feeding-mechanism, with appliances, substantially as described, for conveyingsaid blanks from said feeding mechanism to and from saiddies and for depositing the compressed blanks in a proper receptacle, substantially as set forth. 1

2. The combination, in a machine for compressing wire blanks for the manufacture of needles and analogous articles, of appliances for receiving and holding a series of wire blanks in a line side by side, of mechanism for moving said line of wire blanks within their holder, and for moving said blank-holding appliances to bring the forward blank of said series before the end of a reciprocating and revolving chuck, and of appliances for ejecting one of said series of blanks partially from its holder to permit said chuck to seize it, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, platesf and j, having coinciding grooves 0 and o in their adjacent faces, and having an opening therebetween to receive the wire-blanks y, the blank-ejector 0, the sliding feed-plate g and appliances for sliding said feed-plate between said plates f and f, substantially as set forth.

4. The blank-ejector 0, to strike in succession each one of the wire blanks y lying between plates fffln combination with said plates having a reciprocating motion, and with appliances for sliding said ejector transversely therebetween, substantially as set forth.

5. In combination,platesfand f, theblankejector 0, and the blank-support s, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with platcsfand f, and with appliances for moving a series of wire blanks in a line therebetween, of the blankguide j, secured adj ustabl y in front of the ends of said wire blanks, substantially as set forth.

7 In combination, plates f and f, the blankejector 0, having thereon the stud 0, plate t, having the cam-slot v therein, and the arm to thereon, and the stop-blocks z zon bedE, substantially as 'set forth.

8. In combination, the chuck c, to receive and hold a wire blank, the reciprocating plates f and f, to carry a series of said wire blanks before the end of said chuck, and the blankejector 0, to push one of said blanks out beyond the ends of the said series thereof, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination, the slotted clamp-tube 6 the spring-actuated ejector-piston 'i, and the longitudinally-chambered screw i, substantially as set forth.

10. In combination with the tubular chuckcase d, and with the head d, the slotted clamptube 6 inclosin g the ejector-piston i, the clamptube case e ,piston e, and appliancesfordriving said piston toward head at, when a wire blank drives the e ector-piston back into the chamber in screw t substantially as set forth.

11. In combination, the compressing-dies 0, and operating mechanism, substantially as described, the chuck 0, having thereon the collar 4:, the head-stock a, and appliances, substantially as described, for imparting to said chuck a non-positive movement toward said dies and a positive movement from them, all as and for the purpose set forth.

12. In combination, the head-stock a, the

transversely-slotted chuck-case d, the piston e, the wedge i the inclined slotted collar 0, lever 6 and appliances for swinging the end of said lever when the chuck 6 receives the end of a Wire blank, and when it has drawn said blank from between the compressing-dies c a, substantially as set forth.

13. The plate f, provided with the apron 2, and with the vertical die-guard 3, substantially as set forth.

JOHN BERRY. Witnesses:

H. A. CHAPIN, J. D. GARFIELD. 

